Chapter 17
CALLIE
Though Maddox refused to meet our eyes as he cleared the plates, his fury was unmistakable.
His shoulders were tight and his movements rigid as he shuffled the last of dinner off to the kitchen.
Two weeks ago, I would have thought he looked hot in his little butler tux, but with so much betrayal fresh in my mind, my desire for him had evaporated.
Or at least, that’s what I was telling myself, but I was just thinking about how his broad shoulders looked in well-fitting formalwear, which was maybe residual attraction in another guise?
I reminded myself not to waste energy on such thoughts. Especially when I had a gorgeous, charming man like Lance sitting beside me, so close I felt encircled by his body heat, as we shared the last of a candlelight dinner.
I was relieved Maddox and I had bought a house with an open kitchen that adjoined the dining room. I would not have trusted what my ex might have done to our food if he were ever out of our sight.
He had put together a surprisingly satisfying meal for me and Lance. Mushroom soup and panko crusted baked chicken with roasted potatoes. I certainly had notes (potatoes were a little underdone), but given how inexperienced he was in this area, it was more than I had been expecting.
Lance sighed contentedly. “I’m really impressed with the household staff. I don’t think I’ve ever had a first date like this before.”
“I’m glad you liked dinner. Maddox is early in his probationary period, but he might be worth keeping around.”
I wanted to glance toward the kitchen to see how that landed on him, but before I could, I felt Lance’s energy shift. A new hunger came into his eyes as his gaze shifted from satiated to seductive.
He leaned in ever so slightly, his intention to kiss me clear.
My heart was suddenly racing. This was the first romantic contact I’d have with a man other than Maddox in years.
Earlier this month, I never would have pictured myself attracted to anyone else.
But now I was as hungry for Lance as he was for me. I leaned forward as well.
He placed a strong, warm hand on the back of my neck as he pulled me into him for the most electric first kiss I’d felt since… well… stop thinking of his name.
All the rage I’d felt transmuted into passion as I kissed him back, his tongue sweeping against mine in a way that made my knees weak.
The sound of shattering glass jarred us out of it.
Lance and I both jumped back a little to see Maddox standing above the sink, where he’d been rinsing the dishes. His breathing was heavy, rage dominating his features. His hands tightly gripped the edge of the counter. Soapy water surrounded the shards of a broken wine glass on the floor.
I shook my head at him, ostentatiously making a “tsk tsk” noise. “Please be more careful with my glassware in the future, Maddox. I’ll have to charge you for that.”
“Of course, ma’am,” he said in a strangled tone.
Lance looked a bit unsure for a moment, but quickly regained his bearings. “Maybe it’s time to take this… upstairs?”
“You read my mind,” I proclaimed as I rose to my feet. But first, some instructions for the butler. “When you finish cleaning up, please station yourself at the top of the stairs until I release you for the night.”
“You need more from me? Tonight?” he mumbled slowly. “I thought after dinner I’d be… done with my shift.”
“Not just yet. I’ll let you know when you’re done.” I took Lance’s hand and led him to the stairs. “I can’t wait for you to see the bedroom.”
“Oh, neither can I,” he replied, as he slid his hand onto my ass, caressing it expertly. This man had the touch. I couldn’t wait to feel his hands exploring my body.
As we ascended the stairs, groping each other, Maddox watched us go with an intensely enraged glare.
* * *
Lance and I crashed into the bedroom, our hands and mouths all over each other.
As his teeth grazed my lower lip, it sent a jolt straight between my legs.
It had been a long time since I’d felt a man wanting me this badly.
The back of my thighs hit the mattress, and I fell backward onto the sheets with a delighted laugh.
Nice to be having fun in my bedroom again!
Standing above me, Lance pulled off his shirt, and my mouth went dry at the sight of his chiseled pecs and six-pack… and that glorious chest hair I’d liked so much in his pictures.
I sat up just enough to run my fingers through it, trailing my fingers down the ridges of his abs, feeling the way his stomach tensed under my touch as I followed the trail of dark hair to his waistband.
“You have the most incredible body I have ever seen! Your abs are unbelievable!” I yelled, at a volume certain to reach Maddox at his post.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Lance said with a low chuckle, as he kicked off his pants and boxers in a single motion. His thick cock jutted out, the head already glistening with pre-cum. My pussy clenched just from the sight of it.
He wasn’t as big as Maddox, but almost.
“Your dick is so much bigger than my ex-husband’s!” I hollered as I shimmied out of my dress.
He was immediately on top of me. “So you like to be loud?” he said with a confident smirk.
Okay, if that was his first comment, I was probably overdoing the broadcast for the man down the hall.
Then I felt Lance’s mouth on my neck, his lips hot and open-mouthed as he sucked at the sensitive skin just below my ear. My nails dug into his shoulders as his free hand slid up my thigh and between my legs, his fingers hooking on my damp panties and pulling them down.
“Callie, you’re dripping,” he murmured into my ear.
I could only gasp at his touch, the slow, teasing circles around my clit. Just enough pressure to make my hips jerk, but not enough to satisfy the ache building inside me.
“You’re so ready for me,” he growled.
I moaned yes, my back arching off the bed as his fingers slid lower, two of them pressing inside me with a slow, deliberate curl. I clenched around him, my breath catching as he crooked his fingers just right. “I’m ready,” I whispered.
His lips brushed my ear. “You’re so beautiful.” His thumb found my clit again, rubbing in tight, relentless circles as his fingers fucked me deeper and harder. As my thighs trembled around his hand, he pulled away. He reached for the condom on the nightstand, rolling it on with quick efficiency.
Before I could demand more, I felt his cock pressing against my entrance, the tip slick with my arousal.
I grabbed his back tighter, pulling him toward me. I savored the cording of his dense shoulder muscles, the sheer power that was about to drive into me.
And then he was inside me.
One slow inch at a time, stretching me open, filling me in a way that made me breathless.
I bit my lip as he bottomed out, his hips flush against mine.
“Fuck,” I cried, my body adjusting to the delicious burn of him.
He felt huge, the ridge of his cock dragging against my inner walls in a way that had my toes curling.
Lance groaned, his forehead pressing to mine as he pulled back just enough to thrust into me again.
“You feel amazing,” he growled, his voice rough with restraint.
“So tight, so wet.” His hips rolled into me, his rhythm starting slow but building, each thrust harder than the last. The bed creaked beneath us, and the headboard slammed thunderously against the wall.
Lance’s hands gripped my hips, his fingers digging into my flesh as he drove into me, his cock hitting that perfect spot with every snap of his hips.
“Yes, right there,” I panted, my voice breaking as pleasure built within me, my body winding up like a spring.
Then his hands were on my waist, flipping me onto my stomach with a roughness that made me gasp. Before I could even catch my breath, he was behind me, his cock pressing against my entrance again. “On your knees.”
I eagerly repositioned myself, pushing up onto my hands and knees, my ass in the air as I glanced back at him over my shoulder.
The sight of him behind me, his cock glistening, his eyes burning with hunger…
he didn’t make me wait. One hand gripped my hip, the other tangled in my hair, and then he was inside me again, deeper this time, the angle making me see stars as he filled me.
“Oh my gods! You’re incredible!” The pleasured words tore from my throat as his hips slapped against my ass with a sharp, rhythmic smack. Each thrust drove me forward, my fingers clawing at the sheets as he fucked me like he owned me.
I could feel my orgasm building, the pressure winding tight, my thighs trembling with the effort of holding myself up. His free hand snaked around my waist, his fingers finding my clit again.
“Cum for me, Callie,” he growled, his voice rough with effort.
That sent me over the edge.
Pleasure crashed over me like a wave, my dripping pussy clamping down around him as my orgasm coursed through me. I cried out in ecstasy, my body shuddering, my vision whiting out as Lance drove into me one last time, his cock throbbing inside me as he came with a groan.
He pulled out, and we collapsed onto the bed. My heart was pounding with such force, it felt like it could break out of my chest.
Lance was gazing at me in awe. “That was incredible,” he rasped.
“It was. You don’t know how much I needed that.” I kissed him again.
When we came up for air, Lance had a feisty grin. “I’ll be good to go again in fifteen minutes, if you’re up for it?”
“Am I ever!” I rejoiced. “You need a little recharge? Need anything to drink?”
“Yeah, you got any coconut water or sports drinks or anything?” Lance asked.
“We might. I’ll have the butler check.” Lance blinked in surprise as I bellowed “Maddox!”
I heard his heavy footsteps lumbering down the hall. Good. He hadn’t missed a single sound of my sex with Lance.
Maddox’s footfalls stopped outside the door. “Yes?”
“Come in,” I trilled in a cheery singsong.
A long moment passed. The door didn’t open.
“Maybe this is a little much for your butler,” Lance whispered.
It hit me I should have asked Lance before inviting Maddox in. “Oh, are you comfortable with him seeing us…” I gestured at our state of undress, though we were covered by the sheets.
“Oh sure, I don’t care, but I can get my own—”
“Nonsense, serving us is his job,” I reassured Lance. “Come in, Maddox,” I commanded, in my harshest and most unforgiving tone.
The door opened, as slowly as possible. Maddox lingered out in the hall, not stepping over the threshold.
I let Maddox take it in for a moment. The most classic post-coital scene you could imagine. Lance and I in bed, drenched in sweat, hair disheveled, clothing tossed all over the room. Satisfaction surged in me as I realized Maddox would still think of this as his bed.
“We’re both feeling pretty drained after that and need some liquid refreshment before round two. Do we still have some of your sports drinks in the house?”
“We do,” Maddox said through a tight grimace.
“Great, we want them. Bring them to us,” I ordered.
“You want to give me his stuff?” Lance asked.
“Oh, it’s fine. He doesn’t need them. You don’t mind us taking your stupid sports drinks, do you, Maddox?”
Maddox silently nodded his assent.
At that, Lance surprised me by sitting up. “Okay, I’ve been biting my tongue because everything else about you is amazing, but I am not cool with the way you treat your butler. You’ve been so mean to him all night.”
“Oh, it’s not what it looks like—”
“Isn’t it?” Lance interrupted. “I’d love to see you again, but not if this is the way you treat staff. I’m not okay with mistreating employees just because—”
“He’s not my employee, he’s my ex-husband!”
Lance looked baffled. “I’m sorry, what?”
“He cheated on me. A lot. That’s why we got divorced. Now he’s desperate to get me to forgive him. I told him there was no chance, but if he wanted to stick around to try, it could be as a servant or not at all.”
Lance took a moment to digest that. He looked incredulously at Maddox. “You cheated on this woman?”
Maddox’s only response was to clench his jaw even more tightly. I could practically hear his teeth grinding.
Lance got up and strode towards Maddox, fully comfortable in his nudity, his cock swinging as he walked. “What the hell were you looking for that she wasn’t giving you? She’s stunning, she’s kind, she’s funny, she’s smart, her body is insane, and she’s incredible in bed!” Lance barked.
My ex-husband just stared. He was seething with fury at being cut down like this, but he couldn’t muster any words to defend himself.
“Lance, I promise you, I would never treat an actual employee this way. On the other hand, the man who cheated on me constantly…”
“No, I get it. I’m sorry I laid into you like that,” Lance said, before turning back to Maddox. “Why don’t you go get us something to drink, dirtbag?”
Maddox met my gaze, and I was surprised to see defiance still. I thought this night might break him, but there was still an intense fury boiling there. For a moment I was worried he’d attack Lance, but if he did, magical restraint remained an option.
That was if Lance even needed my help, which I doubted.
But instead of aggression, Maddox took a deep, agonized breath. “Of course. Right away,” he growled.
But he didn’t move immediately. He lingered in the doorway seething.
“Get moving, asshole,” Lance glowered.
“You heard the man,” I said.
Maddox’s shoulders sagged as he turned and shuffled away.
“Hope all that random pussy was worth it!” I called after him.
Lance’s delighted laughter joined mine, chasing Maddox down the stairs.